


in which eve baird falls for prince charming and a math geek (it helps they’re the same person)

by coconuthorse



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: F/F, Found Families, Gen, all your bisexuals are belong to the library
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-09-15 20:49:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9256544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coconuthorse/pseuds/coconuthorse
Summary: “Please don’t say I’m like your mother.”“No,” says Cassandra, a soft look in her eye. “Nothing like that.”Oh, Eve thinks.Oh.





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> 1) starts from 1x10, and goes from there.  
> 2) Flynn and Eve had their romance through the first season, but break up at the beginning of season 2.  
> 3) I am not describing or representing how one might experience synesthesia in any sort of accurate way, my apologies.

“Please don’t say I’m like your mother.”

“No,” says Cassandra, a soft look in her eye. “Nothing like that.”

 _Oh,_ Eve thinks.

_Oh._

\---

Eve has seen Cassandra at her worst; defeating Lamia in the blink of an eye, planning the deaths of millions without a second thought. The Apple of Discord’s magic had twisted Cassandra’s gifts, and she thinks her Cassandra would never truly be capable of such things.

But she also knows the potential is there. Cassandra’s worst self without the ability to wield magic was terrifying. But with magic? She could destroy the world in an instant.

Sometimes she thinks the most dangerous artifact in the Library is Cassandra herself.

And yet -

She watches this version of Cassandra perform magic, all poise and grace. No fear of the primal forces she bends to her will, yet no temptation to dominate. Eve has come to learn that magic is not black and white, but a wild force. How you use it reveals your character. This Cassandra is very much like the magic she wields - an ever shifting shade of gray.

She’s heard Stone recite Byron: _She walks in beauty, like the night, of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes._

Eve thinks the poem was written for her.

\---

Jake lunges at her hand for the paper, and Cassandra dodges. “Well if you’re not going to call her-”

“I never said I wouldn’t!-”

Eve sneaks up to Cassandra, who is hiding the piece of paper behind her back. She snatches the note and holds it above her head out of Cassandra’s reach, who tries jumping for it before giving up.

“Why are you so tall!” she exclaims, smacking Eve’s shoulder.

“And what’s this?” Eve asks, a mischievous look in her eye. She opens the paper to see a phone number.

“Italian area code…Cassandra, did you get that girl’s number?!”

Cassandra looks down sheepishly. “I didn’t ask, she just, uh, gave it to me.”

Eve barely keeps her jaw from dropping. Cassandra has _game_ , and she’s not even trying. There’s a light blush blooming on Cassandra’s cheeks, and she looks so adorable Eve can’t resist teasing her.

“Well, look at you, Prince Charming! First the girls in town, now an Italian diplomat!” She hands the note back to Cassandra, and turns to Stone and Jones. “Boys, looks like you could learn a thing or two from your colleague here,” and winks at Cassandra before walking away to the sound of her three Librarians good-naturedly teasing each other.

Before rounding the corner she glances back and sees Cassandra has gone as red as her hair.

\---

Flynn is gone, and Eve is tired. She has been seated at the desk for over an hour trying to finish her mission report, and she can’t focus.

She used to hunt WMDs while people tried to kill her, all with laser focus. But a break-up with a person she barely saw most of the time, and never went on an actual date with? Someone she never had an in-depth conversation with, unless it was about an artifact or magic? This is what distracts her?

Part of her wants her to get her shit together, stop moping, and finish the damn report. The other half wants a stiff drink, a bath, and then to sleep for 12 hours.

She decides both are in order. After she finishes the report – she can finally relax.

Five minutes later, and she’s still staring at a blank page in a stupor. Where did she go wrong? Why couldn’t she convince him that they needed him here?

“Flynn’s an idiot,” states Ezekiel, running by her toward the front door, and scaring the crap out of her in the process.

“What? No he isn- wait, Jones where are you going?” But he doesn’t stop, and it takes 2 minutes for him to return, time which Eve spends half-heartedly trying to continue writing her report, and only gets two sentences written. Technically, one and a half. She’s rounding up.

Ezekiel walks back into the room, and puts his newly obtained pizza box down on the table, and turns to look at her, a serious look on his face. Eve has never seen him like this. Or seen him wait before inhaling an entire pizza.

“Flynn’s an idiot.”

“You said that already.”

“I meant it both times. Look Baird, as much as I don’t like to admit it, Flynn and I have some things in common: we’re both geniuses, and we like to do things our own way. I’m obviously more awesome than he is-“

“Alright, we get it, you’re soooo awesome. Get to the point.”

“The point is that, I know how to adapt. We all do. But Flynn doesn’t want to change. He wants everything his way. In this job, you have to learn and grow if you want to avoid becoming a grease stain on the wall.”

“Colourful imagery,” interrupts Stone, who walks into the Annex with Cassandra, both carrying a stack of books, which they place on the main table.

Ezekiel rolls his eyes in frustration. “As I was saying, Flynn knows how to learn, but he doesn’t want to _grow_. For you, or even for us. That’s selfish.” He holds up a hand to stop Jake from interjecting again. “And yes, I know, I am the king of selfish - so I can call it like I see it.”

Turning back, he grabs a fresh slice of pizza and starts walking toward the kitchen with the pizza box in hand. “If he doesn’t want to grow up to be with you,” he says through a mouthful of food, “then he’s an idiot. You can do better.” Eve watches him leave with a shocked expression on her face.

Jake is quick behind him, shouting for pizza. Cassandra stays behind, walking slowly toward where Eve sits at her desk. Eve is broken out of her trance with the movement, and quickly looks down to her report, trying to act casual.

“So, how goes the cataloguing?” she asks nonchalantly.

Cassandra doesn’t even bother playing the game. “I didn’t think Ezekiel had that in him.”

Eve still keeps her head down. “He’s certainly always full of surprises.”

“Or maybe we underestimate him.”

Eve looks up at that statement. Cassandra has a point.  “Maybe you’re right.”

Cassandra smirks at that. “Now you see, if I was Ezekiel, I would respond with – “

“I’m always right!” they both exclaim in unison, and then laugh together, breaking some of the tension. Eve sighs and looks back down at the mostly blank page, feeling Cassandra’s eyes on her.

“For what it’s worth,” Eve hears, “I agree with Ezekiel. But you’re allowed to take some time to process it all. Don’t worry about the report tonight. Come and join us for pizza.”

She walks around the desk and pulls Eve up by her arm, who has suddenly lost the will to do any work whatsoever. “Come ooooon, Guardian. Have to keep your strength up!” They link arms and walk together down the hall toward the kitchen.

“Did you know, the smell of pizza triggers my synesthesia? Right now I hear Disney songs in my head.”

“Oh dear God. Wait, which ones?”

“Mostly Mulan.”

“Oh, that doesn’t sound too bad then.”

“You want to watch it after?”

“Hell yes.”

\---

After the post-mission debrief about their tentacle monster debacle (those are normal words for her now. This is her life. It still blows her mind) has come to its official end, Eve decides she has to ask. It’s not prying, per se, she’s just…curious.

“So, are you going to keep in touch with Lucy?” she asks as casually as possible.

“Well, she’s a friend. It’d be rude not to,” replies Cassandra.

Eve knows she’s not actually jealous of Lucy. She’s the Guardian; she has her own important set of skills she brings to the team, and she wouldn’t change that for anything.

But, maybe, a small part of her was envious seeing the way Cassandra and Lucy interacted – both of them so excited, passionately talking about their love of physics and math, learning from each other. Seeing that enchanting spark in Cassandra’s eyes directed Lucy’s way as they spoke about the wonders of magic.

Eve laughs at herself. _Enchanting? You’re making magic puns now? The others would have a field day._

 _Wait, I think Cassandra’s_ enchanting?

_Oh shit._

Before she can continue to freak out, Jake interrupts her train of thought.

“I think we should keep an eye on Lucy,” says Jake. “Who knows what kind of trouble she might cause. She could get people hurt.”

“Yes, well, we also don’t want _her_ to get hurt,” Cassandra says with a pointed stare.

Jake nods. “Of course not, Cass. But you know how I feel about magic. And we’ve basically given her a free pass to continue doing what she’s doing. And that ain’t good, in my estimation. What if she’s not more careful?”

“I trust her. But, you have a point. I’ll keep in touch with her. If anything I hear sounds really, you know, magicky and dangerous,” she says, her hands flying around, “Then we’ll step in. Sound fair?”

“For now.”

“Jacob, she’s a good person, just trying to make sense of the world around her. Isn’t that what we do? What kind of person would that make me if I stopped her from achieving her happiness, like I have here?”

“Because you have a team to support you!” he responds, starting to sound agitated. “We balance each other out. Lucy doesn’t have that.”

“Oookay,” says Eve, aiming to prevent a full-blown debate. “We’ve made our decisions, now we have to live with them. I think everybody could use some R &R. Barring an emergency in the clippings book, you all have the day off tomorrow. Now, I think we’re all done here, so I’m heading to bed.”

Cassandra stands up. “Same here. I’ll walk with you.”

Jake and Ezekiel head off to the kitchen to grab a late snack, and the two women head down the corridor toward the bedrooms.

They walk in silence for a few moments before Eve blurts out, “I’m happy you didn’t go with the Ladies of the Lake.”

Cassandra smiles, and then frowns after a moment. “Why, because you don’t agree with their stance on the use of magic?”

Eve shakes her head. “I know that we often have differing opinions on magic, but that’s not the reason.”

“Oh, okay,” Cassandra says in a calmer tone. “Then why?”

“Would’ve been weird without you here,” she says with a shrug. “Can you imagine just me and the guys? It’d be bickering around the clock, I’d never get anything done,” she finishes with a teasing grin.

“So I’m the babysitter, am I?” Cassandra replies, nudging her shoulder.

“Couldn’t keep ‘em in line without you.”

They come to a stop at the entrance to Cassandra’s room. Eve is exhausted, and longs for sleep. But as she looks at Cassandra, she feels reluctant to leave.

Cassandra makes it easy for her when she reaches out, and rests a hand on her arm in parting. “Good night, Eve.” She turns and shuts the door behind her.

Eve is left alone in the hallway, staring at a closed door. “Good night, Librarian,” she whispers.

\---

It has officially been a long day. After meeting the human representation of the library and having to work with both a very awkward Flynn _and_ Moriarty, all Eve wants to do is grab a beer, eat her weight in mac and cheese, and binge watch some Netflix.

The Annex is blessedly quiet after the Librarians all went off on their own. She finishes up her report quickly and heads to the kitchen, ready to cook up a storm when she is stopped in the doorway by the sight of Cassandra at the stove, stirring a pot of noodles. Eve sees two opened boxes of macaroni beside her. Cassandra turns at the noise.

“I’m making mac and cheese!” she says perkily. “You interested?”

“You read my mind! I was planning on making some. Wait, you didn’t use magic to read my mind, did you?” she teases. _Oh God, I hope that’s not an actual thing,_ she thinks. _I’d never be able to look her in the eye again._ She makes a mental note to ask Jenkins if that's something one can do with magic later.

Cassandra rolls her eyes, but smiles at the joke. “No of course not - it’s one of my favourites.”

“Well, if you’re willing to share, then absolutely,” Eve replies, grabbing a beer from the fridge. “But you know what I like to add? Bacon. We have any of that?”

“Two words: Diced. Prosciutto.”

Eve actually groans with happiness. “You are officially my favourite person,” she states, and Cassandra beams at her.

A peaceful semi-quiet falls over the room, as Eve cracks open and drinks her beer while Cassandra turns back to start dicing the meat, both women lost in the thoughts in their own heads. Eve is startled when Cassandra starts speaking quietly, still facing away from her.

“When I was working as a janitor, I couldn’t afford much. Mac and cheese was cheap comfort food. Every once in a while, if my hallucinations were particularly bad that day, and I had the cash, I’d treat myself and splurge for prosciutto, salami, or whatever to add something extra. It always made me feel better.”

Eve’s heart breaks a little at the story. She can’t imagine what it must have been like for Cassandra, with a ticking time bomb in her head, so alone and afraid. She decides then and there that Cassandra will never feel that way again if she can help it.

“Is something wrong? Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m, uh, actually making this for you,” she says, looking up hesitantly at Eve.

“For me?” she says, taken aback.

“Yes. I know today wasn’t an easy day for you, so I thought maybe I could help cheer you up. With mac and cheese. I mean it works for me, and I didn’t know you liked it, but I thought since it worked for me, I might as well make some and if you didn’t like it, I could eat it–”

Eve places her hands on the other woman’s shoulders. “Cassandra, breathe,” says Eve, cutting off her increasingly fast rambling, as Cassandra hadn’t taken a breath for a full 30 seconds and her face was getting very pink. (Eve doesn’t want to assume she’s blushing. A very small part of her hopes so, and she crushes that feeling down as far as she can).

“Thank you,” she continues. “This is the nicest thing- well, this is really nice. But be warned,” she adds with a smirk, “I could eat this whole pot easy. So you best serve yourself first.”

Cassandra shakes her head in amusement. “You, eat this whole thing? You’re a beanpole! No way you can eat it all.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Oh, you’re so on.”

“Loser has to catalogue the 17th century folios.”

“Which region?”

“All of them.”

“You’re the worst.” Cassandra pretends to think about it for a moment. “I’m in.”

Eve wins, of course. Cassandra puts on a pout as she leaves, but Eve can see the smile she fails to hide as she exits the room.

It’s as big as Eve’s own.


	2. Part Two

Cassandra is bent over the toilet while Eve crouches behind her and holds her hair. Once Cassandra has finished she flushes the toilet and backs away, sitting up against the wall.  Eve sits down next to her.

“You okay?” she asks.

Cassandra leans her head back against the wall, her eyes closed. “That is the first and last time I go clubbing. I think this is the worst I’ve ever felt while being a Librarian – and that includes almost being killed by a giant tentacle monster.” She grimaces. “You know, I’ve never had a hangover before. Why didn’t the tacos help like Ezekiel said? I wonder if a magical hangover is worse than a real one,” she muses.

“I don’t know, my real hangovers often ended the same way,” Eve says wryly.

Cassandra chuckles softly, then opens her eyes and turns to look at Eve, gazing at her for a few moments. Eve’s not sure what she’s staring at, and wonders if Cassandra’s experiencing her frequent visual hallucinations.

“You sure you’re okay?”

Cassandra keeps looking at her. “You didn’t hesitate,” she says, so softly.

“Hesitate- what?”  

“You didn’t even have a plan. _You_ , who loves having a plan, didn’t stop to think it through first. You took that picture of yourself immediately. You could have died, anytime. So quickly. If Dorian hadn’t decided to monologue about himself for so long –“

“Yeah, his narcissism definitely helped us out there,” interjects Eve.

“-you’d be gone,” she finishes, with wide, sad eyes.

Eve sighs. “And if I hadn’t done that, and there was no monologuing, then you’d be gone.” She pauses before leaning in and nudging Cassandra’s shoulder with her own. “It was not my best planning moment, you’re right. But I did what I had to do. And I would have made the same choice every time, for you, for the boys. Hell, even Jenkins. It’s my job. That’s what a Guardian does. Sacrifice yourself to save others.”

“Right,” whispers Cassandra, who doesn’t sound like she actually agrees at all.

Eve leans back from her then, not knowing what else to say. She stands to leave, and is almost at the door when Cassandra speaks.

“You’re already my- a hero, Eve. You don’t need to die to prove that.”

Eve stops in her tracks and turns around. “I’m not trying to prove anything –”

“Your job is to save our souls, right? You need to be _here_ to do that. With us.”

Eve is frozen in place at her words. _Guess she overheard me and Jenkins_. It’s not like she _wants_ to go out in a blaze of glory. But if Cassandra thinks she’d ever let anyone hurt one hair on any of her Librarians’ heads when she could prevent it –

Cassandra is suddenly right next to her.

“I, we, need you Eve. As you are. Please try to remember that.” She leans in and kisses Eve softly on the cheek before slowly walking away, one hand on the wall for support as she heads to bed.

The feeling of Cassandra’s lips does not fade for a long while.

\---

Eve pulls herself up, grunting.

_Fifteen_.

It’s 6:30 in the morning, and Eve slept all of two hours last night. Her cheek still burns.

_Sixteen_.

She feels like dry kindling that could burst into flame with a single spark.

_Seventeen_.

Shit, when did she get poetic? That’s Stone’s job.

_Eighteen_.

She’s still not sure if that kiss meant anything at all, or if Cassandra was just being nice, or if the magical hangover headache made her momentarily act out of character.

_Nineteen._

She’s a damn mess. Hence, the early morning workout. Nothing works out tension like doing pull-ups until your entire upper body is screaming.

_Twenty –_

The doors to the gym burst open, and Jake and Ezekiel strut through. Eve drops from the bars, knowing that her active reflection time has just ended.

“Looks like great minds think alike,” says Jake, walking over to the treadmill. “You up for a sparring session?”

“Yeah, let me grab a drink and stretch. Meet you on the mat in 10.”

“Sounds good,” he says, throwing in his headphones and turning up the dial on the treadmill until he’s jogging at a steady rate.

The next few minutes pass quickly, with Jake working up a light sweat as he runs and Ezekiel and Eve stretching side by side on the mats, helping each other with their form.

The three occupants of the gym are finishing up their current activities when the door creaks open, and Cassandra walks in.

“Hi guys!” she chirps. “Thought I’d wait for you down here before we go for breakfast.”

Eve freezes for a moment at the sight of Cassandra; her muscles tense up and her heart rate spikes sharply. Then her brain catches up with her reflexes, and decides to think a whole bunch of things at once, which she finds very annoying:

_Why is she so pretty? How is she so perky this early in the morning? Why is she down here in the smelly, sweaty gym when she could wait upstairs? Or sleep in?_

Cassandra’s cheery expression doesn’t seem to indicate to Eve that the other woman is feeling any awkwardness, or that anything out of the ordinary happened last night – like kissing your colleague, who then dwells on that fact for an entire evening.

Cassandra’s smile starts to morph into a concerned expression, and Eve realizes that she’s staring. She knows that the next thing Cassandra will do is ask if she’s alright, and she knows she absolutely cannot answer that question honestly right now.

So Eve prevents the potential disaster by abruptly shouting, “Alright, Stone! Sparring time.” She waves him over to the mat and turns around, walking over to the bench where the gloves are laying out. She’s already doing up the binding on her second glove by the time Jake gets to the bench. “Alright, Stone. Let’s see if you perfected that technique I showed you last time.”

Jake puts on his gloves and swings his arms in front of him, rolling his head around to stretch his neck. “I’ve been working on it. But I still don’t like fighting my boss.”

“You’ll get used to it. Hands up.”

Jake takes his stance, and they start circling each other, both fighters bouncing lightly on their feet as they test the other’s defence with quick punches and low kicks.

Eve breaks the silence with a question and a jab. “Did you publish that new paper yet?”

Jake brushes the jab to the side. “Yeah. Under my own name too, before you ask.”

Eve beams, pride written all over her face. “Good,” she says with a nod.

Jake beams back, and takes a swing.

They continue to spar, Eve giving pointers occasionally on Jake’s stance or technique. Eve has just finished a quick lesson on footwork when she sees a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye that distracts her. Cassandra is doing the very opposite of working out: sitting on the edge of a table, dressed in her usual wardrobe of tights, skirt and bright top. One foot is up on the table while the other swings below her. She’s smiling down at her phone; what at, Eve doesn’t know. But that smile – Eve thinks that smile could light up a room –

Stone lands a jab to her jaw. It’s very effective at recapturing her attention.

Jake immediately puts his hands down, stepping toward her and cupping her face in his gloved hands, turning her head for inspection. “Are you okay? How’s your vision?”

Eve pushes his hands away gently and rubs her jaw, testing for any soreness. “Relax Stone, I’m just fine.”

Eve hears Cassandra scramble from her seat and turns to see her run at full speed toward the door. “I’ll go get ice!”

Eve calls out, “Cassandra it’s not that bad, I don’t need – and she’s gone.”

“I shouldn’t have landed that hit,” Jake says.

Eve turns her head to see Jake looking at her with a contemplative expression. “There’s no way,” he continues. “You normally see the wind-up coming from a mile way, but this time you didn’t.”

“I’m just not at my best today, that’s all. I slept poorly. It was a nice shot.”

“No,” Jake disagrees.

“No?”

“No. You were distracted. By _Cass_. I saw you looking her way.”

_Shit_.

“That’s ridiculous,” Eve scoffs. “I wasn’t distracted by Cassandra. I...just have a lot on my mind, that’s all.”

“Oh, and while you were pondering, you just _happened_ to be looking in the general direction of where Cassandra was by chance, is that it?”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“You’re an awful liar. Look, you don’t have to bullshit me. Cass is great, and if you like her then I don’t see what the problem is.”

Eve sighs. She’s _so tired_. Part of her wants to deny everything and put this all to rest. The other part? Well, it’d be nice to have someone to talk it out with.

“You can’t say anything, Stone. I’m serious,” she says with a stern look. “Besides, it can’t happen. I’m her Guardian. It wouldn’t work.”

Jake crosses his arms and raises an eyebrow. “Flynn’s a Librarian. Didn’t seem to be an issue then.”

“If you recall, that didn’t work out so well. Case in point.”

Jake shakes his head. “Cassandra’s not Flynn. She’s not going to leave.”

Eve lets out a long exhale and hangs her head. “I know. It’s just – I don’t know where she stands. I’m not even 100% sure where _I_ stand. And in the very unlikely case that we start something, there are so many things that could go wrong.”

“That’s the same for any relationship Baird. So you’re scared – guess what? Everyone else is too, in the beginning. You have a lot in common, and enough differences to keep things interesting. Just be open and honest with each other, and you’ll be fine.”

Eve tilts her head. “When did you become a relationship guru?”

“Ain’t my first rodeo. Did it the wrong way enough times to figure out the right way. And Cass likes you, don’t worry about that.”

“Oh, you can tell just like that?”

“Bet you fifty bucks I’m right.”

(This is the second bet she’s placed with her Librarians in the last few days. Maybe she should be worried. Then again, they gamble with their lives every day.  She’d rather they gamble with money.)

“Fifty? That’s a lot for some dumb bet…wait. You owe Ezekiel fifty bucks, don’t you? And you’re trying to win it from me so you don’t have to shell out the money yourself.”

Jake scoffs in annoyance. “Never make bets with Jones, alright? You never win.”

They both shoot a glance over at Ezekiel, who’s currently working out on the stationary bike, the music in his headphones so loud Eve can hear it from across the room. She makes a note to talk to him later about appropriate listening levels.

When Ezekiel notices them both staring at him, he flashes a cheeky smile and waves.

Eve and Jake both roll their eyes good-naturedly and get back to their conversation.

“Look,” Jake says. “You win the bet, you make fifty bucks. You lose the bet, you have the opportunity to start something great with Cass, if that’s what you both want. Either way, you win.”

“Fifty bucks would be very poor consolation,” Eve grumbles, “And I can’t believe I’m hoping I’ll lose a bet…but I’ll trust you on this, Stone.”  She reaches out a hand and he meets it with his own, giving a firm shake. “You’re on.”  

At that moment, the gym doors slam open for the second time that morning and Cassandra rushes back into the room, holding an ice pack that is way too big for Eve’s face, and a towel. “Here! I’ll wrap this up for you first.” She starts to wrap the ice pack in the towel, and Eve can’t help but smile at how adorable and caring she is.

She lays a gentle hand on her forearm, which halts Cassandra’s frantic movements immediately. “I’m okay. I doubt it will even bruise.”

Cassandra looks up into Eve’s eyes. “Are you sure?” she asks worriedly.  

“If I start to have any swelling, or any other symptoms for that matter, I will let you know right away, okay?” She neglects to mention she’s starting to feel dizzy, but she’s pretty sure it’s from staring into Cassandra’s eyes for too long. “And I will use that gigantic ice pack –” she breaks off, chuckling. “Where did you find that thing, it’s huge!”

“Borrowed it from Jenkins – he mumbled something about buying it after jumping off a cliff and something heavy landing on him?”

“Oh, that. Yeah, that was partially my fault.”

“Ooh, I haven’t heard this story yet.”

“How about you share it with us over breakfast,” Ezekiel interrupts as he walks over to them, dabbing his forehead with a towel. “I worked up an appetite.”

“Me too,” says Jake. “What does everyone feel like?”

Ezekiel smirks at Cassandra. “How about…tacos?” he teases.

Cassandra shudders. “Ugh, you had to bring that up.”

“Hah! ‘Bring it up!’ ‘Cause you know, you were throwing up last nig-“

Cassandra reaches out and covers his mouth with her hand. “Hush you, my stomach doesn’t need reminding. And no to tacos! In fact, I am banning any discussion of tacos for the foreseeable future.”

“No taco talk,” Eve chuckles. “We got it.”

“How about breakfast at the diner?” Jake asks.

“I’m in,” Cassandra says. Ezekiel can only nod in agreement.  

“Good, that’s settled,” Eve states. “Let’s clean up and then head out.”

They all start to shuffle toward the door, Cassandra and Ezekiel leading the way and bickering amongst themselves, with Jake and Eve tailing behind them.

Jake leans toward Eve and whispers, “Did you see how worried she was? That’s not general friendly concern. That fifty bucks is mine.”

“Oh hush, she was just worried, she would’ve done that for any one of us.”

“Mm _hmm_ , sure.”

Eve punches him in the arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any typos? let me know, i was exhausted as i finished this up - but i was determined to post something today (cause it's my bday and i wanted to finally finish this chapter to celebrate).


	3. Part Three

“Come on, Evie!” Cassandra exclaims, bouncing over and plopping herself down on the corner of Eve’s desk. “I want to hear you sing ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’ again!”

Eve glances up from the report she’s writing. “Nope, no no no, nope, no way. That was a one-time thing, and I was still under the effects of Winston Churchill’s whiskey tumbler.”

“And it has been documented for my endless amusement,” adds Ezekiel, holding up his phone.

“I see that video online, I will break your phone.”

Jake bursts through the doors to the Annex pushing a trolley full of karaoke equipment, and starts to set it all up. “It was kind of nice to see you let your hair down – figuratively speaking, of course,” he chimes in.

Eve rolls her eyes and stands up, heading over to the bookshelf, finished report in hand. “You guys act like I work 24/7.”

“That’s because you _do_ ,” Cassandra points out.

“No I don’t! I get out. I went to the movies recently!”

“What’d you see?” asks Ezekiel.

“The new Star Wars one, you know.”

“That was out _three months ago_.”

“See?” says Cassandra. “We’re right. Librarians: one, Guardian: zero.”

“Alright, whatever,” Eve capitulates. “You’re still not going to get me to sing again. I have absolutely no musical skill. When I was little, one of my school friends begged me to join her band, ‘cause they needed a backup singer.  I got kicked out five minutes later. Couldn’t hold a tune.”

“You know, I was in a band for a while,” Jake comments.

Ezekiel snorts. “Really? What kind of music, country songs about trucks, beer and girls?”

“Hey, we had good taste. We played _classic_ country.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“Yes it is!”

“Name one.”

“Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, Charley Pride –”

“Were you the _singer?_ ” Cassandra interrupts excitedly.

Jake smiles, reminiscing. “Yeah. I had longer hair then too.”

“You DID?!” the other three shout.

“Pics or it didn’t happen,” says Eve as she stacks her report with the others. “Wait, do the kids say that anymore?”

“Not happening, no way,” says Jake. “And don’t try hacking my phone, Jones, there’s nothing in there.”

Ezekiel pouts. “Guess I’ll have to do a deep search online,” he grumbles under his breath and sneakily heads toward the door.

Eve reaches out without turning around and snags Ezekiel by the back of the shirt, before he can get to his laptop. “You can do your illicit interwebbing later,” she admonishes, dragging him back toward the others. “Right now, it’s time for _you_ to sing, and for _me_ to capture a blackmail-worthy video.”

xxx

…So, it turns out Ezekiel’s a great singer.

Not that Eve has _any_ idea what he’s singing, exactly. But the three of them are happy to watch the show and marvel their youngest Librarian’s angelic voice.

Jenkins walks into the Annex between the last verse and the chorus. Eve watches as his eyebrows raise in pleasant surprise at his recognition of the song. He is carrying a stack of books which he promptly drops on the table and then joins in on the last chorus, singing harmony.

“ _Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda_

_You’ll come a-waltzing Matilda with me,”_

_“He sang as he watched and waited ‘til his billy boiled,_

_You’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me.”_

As soon as Ezekiel finishes singing he walks over to Jenkins and lightly punches his arm. “Jenkins! You know Waltzing Matilda?”

Jenkins narrows his eyes at him and Ezekiel backs up, hands up in apology. Eve barely contains her amused snort.

“Indeed. It’s not what one would call a recent song, Mr. Jones.”

“Yeah, but still, you’re not Australian.”

“I spent a few years there during the 30s, doing research on some of your more dangerous species.”

“What do you mean, _some_?” Jake pipes up. “Don’t you mean, all of them?”

“Laugh it up, Stone,” Ezekiel says dryly. “At least we don’t freak out when we see a big spider.”

“That was ONE TIME.”

“Sure it was.”

“Well I understood all of those words separately,” Eve declares, cutting into the budding argument. “But boys, you both sing beautifully.”

“Now we _have_ to start a band,” Cassandra squeals. “The Bibliotechnos are hitting the road!”

“Hate to burst your bubble, but we don’t have any instruments Cass,” Jake quips.

“So we’ll be an acapella group. No, wait – a barbershop quartet!”

Jenkins clears his throat. “I’ve tried my hand at that, Miss Cillian, it’s not as fun as it appears. There’s always tension between the tenor and everyone else.”

Ezekiel’s eyes practically bug out of his head. “I have SO many questions.”

“And none of them will be answered,” Jenkins says, turning on his heel and heading back to his lab.

Ezekiel shakes his fist in the air melodramatically after him. “Damn you, Jenkins!”

Jake pushes off the wall and heads over to the machine, leaving the two women behind. “Cass, it’s your turn!”

Cassandra turns to Eve and pouts. “Can I hide behind you, please? You’re so tall, they won’t notice I’m gone.”

It takes all of Eve’s willpower to fight that pout. No one’s pout should be that cute. “Oh I see,” she grins, “I’m just a human shield to you, am I?”

“A very strong, pretty, slightly intimidating human shield, yes.”

“You think I’m pr- intimidating?”

“The tallness and muscles help with that, but don’t worry. You don’t scare me,” Cass finishes, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

Before Eve can figure out how to interpret Cassandra’s words, Jake interrupts them.

“Stop bantering you two. Cass, get over here. You’re not getting out of this one.”

“What am I singing?”

“Fever. It’s a classic.”

Of course he picked a sultry love song, thinks Eve. While Cassandra closes her eyes and groans in response to the information, Eve catches Jake’s eye and mouths, _What the hell, Stone?_ Jake responds by rubbing his two fingers and thumb together, and _That 50 bucks is mine._

Cassandra opens her eyes. “No, Stone –”

“Yes, Stone,” he retorts, and presses play.

Cassandra sighs, resigned to her fate. “Guess that’s my cue,” she says, not sounding nearly as upset as she appeared to be a few moments before. She heads toward the microphone, throwing a wink over her shoulder to Eve as she goes.

_Oh._

The clues quickly come together in her mind. Eve realizes she’s going to have to pay up, and deal with Stone’s smug face while she’s doing it.

She’s never been happier.

xxx

 

Eve has been walking around the Library looking for Cassandra, ostensibly to return the novels that the Librarian had lent her, but really to see if Cassandra might feel the same way she does.

She runs into Jake and Ezekiel first in the kitchen, who let her know that Cassandra is still working in the Annex. Jake subtly gives her an encouraging nod as she heads out, and Eve gratefully smiles back.

She hasn’t been this nervous since her first big counterterrorism mission for NATO. Feeling that overwhelming sense of anticipation, running through all the potential scenarios in her head about how the situation could play out – she’s mortified at how anxious and _young_ she feels.  

 _It’s just like any other mission,_ she reminds herself _. Set the plan, and execute it. Say your piece, and deal with the response accordingly. Simple._

So why does her heart feel like it’s going to burst out of her chest?

Eve finds herself at the entrance to the Annex by the end of her inner diatribe. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opens the door, quietly slipping through at the sight of Cassandra sitting quite alone at the main table, facing away from her. Eve screws her courage to the sticking place and is about to greet the Librarian when she sees what’s in Cassandra’s hands.

She looks radiant, her face lit up as she manipulates a bright blue sphere between her fingers, between her hands, throwing the ball of light up in the air and making it hover.

_Magic._

Eve has already forgotten what she came to talk about.

_Why did she hide this from me?_

She can’t help but think back to the alternate universe and draw some comparison between the two different versions of Cassandra. Her Cassandra looks different – a pure, innocent joy on her face as she revels in the wondrous ( _dangerous,_ her brain reminds her) energy she commands. The other Cassandra had been missing that. Magic was both an old friend and enemy to her by the time Eve had arrived on the scene.

Eve has to remind herself that no matter how happy Cassandra looks now, how skilled with this small magic she might appear to be, everything could backfire on her in an instant.

_And she would be gone._

“Cassandra,” she calls out, and she winces internally at how tense her voice sounds.

Cassandra practically squeaks in surprise at the interruption, the magic sphere instantly winking out of existence as she whips around to face Eve. “Eve!” she shouts a little too loudly, clasping her hands conspicuously behind her back. “What are you doing here? Not that you can’t be here, obviously –”

Eve is in no mood to beat around the bush. “You have _magic?_ Where from?”

“I…still have a small amount of magic. It was left over from our time with the Libris Fabula. The little girl made me Merlin, remember? Turns out the magic didn’t fade away completely.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You didn’t want me to get angry, you mean,” she scoffs.           

Cassandra huffs in annoyance, crossing her arms. “Kind of like how you’re getting now?”

“I’m not angry!” she exclaims, and Cassandra just raises her eyebrows in response. Eve sighs, and continues in a calmer voice. “I didn’t mean to shout. I’m not angry, I’m just – I think I’m disappointed that you didn’t tell me. I thought maybe, we were close enough –” Eve cuts herself off, realizing that it doesn’t matter what she had thought, as she was obviously mistaken. She shakes her head, waving a hand sharply in front of herself. “You know what, just forget it.”

“I didn’t mean to upset you,” Cassandra says softly, clasping her hands in front of her and looking contrite. “I really enjoy talking with you, Eve. I cherish our friendship, and I just didn’t want anything to mess it up.”

Eve nods her head reluctantly. “And I appreciate that. I still don’t agree with you about not telling me, but I get where you’re coming from.” She shoves her hands in her pockets to give them something to do, moving away from the door and closer to the desk where Cassandra stands, the table between them.

“Have you told anyone else?” she asks. “Maybe not the boys, but have you told Jenkins? He might have some advice, he has a thousand years of magical experience.”

“There’s nothing to help with. And if I didn’t feel comfortable telling you, there’s no way I would have confided in Jenkins. You know how he reacts to other magic users! You saw how upset he was when the Ladies of the Lake just _talked_ to me,” she spits out. “And all of you look down on them simply because they have a different opinion of magic than you. I refuse to be compared to someone like – like _Morgan Le Fay_ just because I have magic.”

“That would never happen!”

“Oh, no? If this is the reaction I get from you, I can only imagine what the rest will do.”

“We know you aren’t like the others.”

“That’s just it,” she says, and as she extends her right hand in front of her, she opens her palm and the blue sphere reappears, hovering silently. “I _am_ like them.”

“Not this version of you,” Eve blurts out, captivated and distracted by the magical energy, and Cassandra’s spine stiffens, the sphere disappearing again.

“I met a different version of you in an alternate timeline, when Dulac messed with the Loom of Fate,” Eve explains. “Magic and dragons had destroyed the world. You were a powerful magic user there. You had used Excalibur to – ”

“– heal my brain tumour,” Cassandra finishes for her, her eyes flashing. “ _You never did approve_ ,” she says, lowering her voice to mimic her counterpart’s words, and Eve’s eyes widen in shock.

“I remember some of that other timeline,” Cassandra adds.  “I think this magic is the reason I _can_ remember.”

Eve can only recall the few minutes she spent there, but they were memorable, to say the least. She wonders what it’s like to have memories from two different lives in your head. _What does Cassandra remember? Does she remember who we were to each other? Was it anything like how I feel now?_

Instead she asks, “What was it like? What was _I_ like, before I died?”

Cassandra’s gaze looks almost…longing, before shaking her head slightly. “The world was different, but you were the same: a steady, guiding presence,” she says with a fond look. Then she chuckles. “And like I said – you weren’t a fan of magic there either.”

“Sounds like we never could agree on that.”

“No. But we made it work. Why can’t we do that here?” asks Cassandra plaintively.

“I’m not that Eve, no matter how similar we might seem,” she replies sadly. “Magic has too many unknowns for me to ever feel secure in using it.”

“It wouldn’t be unknown if we studied it, instead of locking it away. The more knowledge we have, the safer it would be to use!”

“And the more risk you run of harming yourself and others.”

“How many times have we used some form of magic to save the day, Eve?”

“Magic is also the reason we need to save the day in the first place!”

“Ugh, you sound like Jake.”

“Well he’s got a point, Cassandra.”

Eve watches as Cassandra closes her eyes, then sighs and nods her head. “I know. I’m not advocating for frequent use of magic, Eve. But it is a tool that we can harness for _good._ We shouldn’t be afraid of it. When there’s no other alternative, magic can be used to help us. To save lives. Isn’t that what we’re here for?”

“I can’t say I don’t love your idealism, but I think a little fear is healthy in this case. I have worked with forces like these my whole career – I have seen the destruction they cause.”

“Magic itself isn’t a bad thing, it’s not a WMD. The potential danger of magic lies in the _intent_ of its user.”

“You’re right, Cassandra. At its source, magic is neither good nor bad. But it is a force that can’t simply be controlled!” She pauses for a moment, breathing deeply before continuing. “Magic – it’s like the sea, right,” she starts, walking around the table, her hands gesturing wildly and her speech becoming more passionate. “The sea provides us with wonderful things. And then it can turn around and drown you in the next instant without warning. Even if you’re being safe. Even if you’re doing everything right, the ocean will always be more powerful than you. And I don’t want you to drown,” she finishes breathlessly.

With her rant over, she stops pacing and she looks back to see Cassandra’s lower lip is quivering.

Cassandra starts to reach out to her. “Eve –”

Eve backs away, knowing that if Cassandra touched her now, she would crumble. “You’re an incredibly smart, brave and capable person, Cassandra. You get to make your own choices and live by them, and I will never stop you. But I won't stop being afraid for you, either.” Eve looks down and takes a deep breath, her voice filled with barely-restrained emotion. “You said to me once that you needed me here, as I am. Well, I want you to be safe, because the Library wouldn’t be whole without you. We need you here.” She gathers her nerve and looks at Cassandra with a sad smile, whose eyes are shining with unshed tears.

“And I need you.”

Her voice breaks at the end, and she spins around and walks quickly from the Annex before she starts crying, ignoring Cassandra’s pleas for her to stay.

 


	4. Part Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) CW: kissing (occurred in the past) without consent. Also, some dialogue taken from 2x09, with some modifications.  
> 2) Keziah, thank you for your comment! :) sorry for deleting it along with the chapter earlier on. You were right, there was a bit of a shift – that was an editing mistake on my part. I have tried to fix that somewhat. 
> 
> Onto the story!

Eve wakes up in a small, shiny dome with a pounding headache to a dark-haired petite woman with a Scottish accent waving oddly shimmering hands in her face.

Two different sets of memories are floating around in her head. Part of her still feels like she’s Sheriff Baird of Cicely, where she co-owns a bar with her friends and she’s dating –

Oh holy shit. She was dating Moriarty.

The only thing that keeps her from having a breakdown on the spot is her years of military training. _Prioritize, Baird._ _Focus on getting out of here, and freak out later._

The other part reminds her she is Colonel Baird, and the last thing that _she_ remembers is going to bed, feeling upset and defeated after her argument with Cassandra.

After some time away from the situation to cool down (or rather, be stuck in some weird picturesque town), Eve realizes that she probably could have behaved better during their heated conversation. While magic will always make her a little nervous, she knows she shouldn’t have tried to make Cassandra feel guilty about not disclosing her gift. Their job requires them to be surrounded by powerful magic almost 24/7, and even though Cassandra’s level of interest in magic was slightly worrisome, it would also be hard to expect her _not_ to be interested, especially as voracious a learner as Cassandra.

Once she gets out of here, she’ll apologize to Cassandra for her behaviour. _If she still wants to talk to me_ , _that is. And where are my Librarians, anyway?_

A quick glance around informs her that they are all present and accounted for – and that they are all surrounded by individual glowing cages and seem as confused as she does. They all look different. _Some more than others_ , Eve thinks, as she gawks at Ezekiel in a suit and FBI badge hanging from his neck. Stone and Cassandra’s wardrobes are essentially the same, but the way they hold themselves is different. Like they’ve been living the lives they’ve always dreamed of living, and they didn’t have the world and their fears to hold them back. Eve gazes at Cassandra, who stands a little taller, seems sure of herself – seems more comfortable in her own skin. Similar to her alternate version counterpart, minus the magic. Well, the first other version. And damn, is that ever going to start to get confusing; just how many versions of Cassandra is she going to meet?

But this Cassandra: this happy, successful woman who was never plagued by a horrific brain tumour, who had one adventure after another, who got to help others and bring happiness to their day – well, Eve can’t deny that she looks stunning. She wishes that Cassandra had been able to live that life in reality.

Then again, Eve thinks, she wouldn’t be quite the same Cassandra, would she?

These aren’t her Librarians. She wants them the way they were: bickering and laughing and learning and arguing with each other about anything and everything. She wants her Cassandra, even if they end up forever clashing when it comes to the subject of magic.

She wants her real family back.

She tears her gaze from Cassandra to address Flynn, who is standing next to the strange woman, and who is looking very relieved. “Flynn, what the hell are we doing locked in magical prisons, and how did we get here in the first place?”

“Eve! You’re back! I knew that plan would work!”

Eve is happy to see him, but she just wants a straightforward answer to her question. “Back from WHERE, Flynn? Some place where I appear to be a Sheriff, Jones is in _law enforcement_ , and Cassandra’s been to the moon 18 times? Where were we, and why do I have a pounding headache?”

Stone winces and nods his head in agreement. “I think we’d all like to know the answer to those questions.”

The strange woman gives a half-wave and flits closer to her. “Sorry about that – it’s a nasty side-effect of removing spells that I’ve never been able to shake.”

Cassandra groans, holding her head, her eyes pinched shut. “Everything is very pink in here. And I hear classical music, is that just me?”

 “That…doesn’t usually happen,” the woman says with a slightly worried expression on her face.

“She has synesthesia,” Eve replies. She wishes she could rush over there to see if Cassandra is alright, but doesn’t know if she would be accepted even if she could. “Are you okay?” she asks hesitantly.

“I will be, I think,” Cassandra cracks one eye open and looks over at Eve with a smile of reassurance through the pain written across her features. Eve is grateful for the gesture. “I’m just going to keep my eyes shut and sit down. Don’t mind me.” She slowly sinks down to the floor in the centre of her cage, lowering her forehead to rest on her knees, which she pulls up to her chest and curls up into the best approximation of a ball she can imitate.

“We were under a spell?” Ezekiel asks, getting everyone back on track.

“You still kind of are,” Flynn answers. “Ariel just weakened it for now.”

Stone’s eyes bug out. “Ariel, as in the spirit from the Tempest? Another fictional?” 

“Oh no, I am very real. I was woven into Prospero’s story.” She turns to Flynn. “Can we get a move on? I would very much like to leave before you’re all caught.”

“Loving that optimism,” Stone rebuts.

“Will someone _please_ answer my original question?!” Eve exclaims.

Flynn frowns slightly, most likely due to the fact that he doesn’t get to show off and have everyone bask in his brilliance for a bit longer, but soldiers on. “Prospero put you all under a spell, although I’m not sure why. You’ve been living as fantasy versions of yourselves in some magical fairy-tale story, but Ariel and I rescued you.”

“But the spell has only been weakened, and it won’t last,” Ariel reminds him. “Their stories have been changed, and in order to get them back for good, they need to reject the new narrative and destroy the talismans keeping them there. Only then are they truly free to fight the wizard.”

“So how about it, guys,” Flynn asks. “You want your real lives back?”

They all nod. Even Cassandra, who moans pitifully from her spot on the floor. Eve gestures with a thumb in Cassandra’s direction.

“Can we get her some Advil first?”

xxx

Moriarty catches up with her inside Cicely’s theatre on her way to meet the others at the totem pole. “We need to talk.”

Eve’s brain is still warring with itself. She wants to run to Moriarty and check to see if he sustained any injuries from when Ariel knocked him out. She also wants to punch him in the face.

She compromises and turns on her heel. “Were you trapped here like us, or were you part of this plan, James?”

How many times had they kissed without her true consent? At least it hadn’t gone any further than that, she thinks with a shudder. Right now, she is grateful for even the tiniest of mercies.

Moriarty tries to reach for her hands, but she steps back to avoid him. “Look,” he starts, “I've not been honest with you. I've not been able to, but right now, I'm free of Prospero's influence. Whatever you're doing has weakened his spell. I know this is confusing for you and your friends. You're trying leave to Cicely as if it's a trap.”

“It’s messing with our minds, and it won’t let go! What would you call it?”

“I call it a sanctuary. I'd call it our last chance. Listen to me. Something terrible is going to happen. It may be happening now. I didn't give a toss about the others, but you – there is something between us, and I couldn't let him take it. He's already taken my life, my freedom. I found I couldn't stand the thought of him taking you as well. I begged him to make this town for you and your friends so that you could find love, happiness. Don't we all deserve a happily-ever-after?”

Eve listens to his speech with ever-growing horror, so that by the end she is practically in shock. “I cannot believe you!” she spits out venomously. “You had Prospero trap all of us here – and me, to live as your girlfriend while I had no idea what was going on? You really are a villain. And if you thought there was ever anything between us, you were mistaken. James, there is no such thing as a happily-ever-after, at least not the way you mean it. What you’ve created here isn’t love. Real love is hard, it's risky. Sometimes it breaks your heart, but you have to take that chance, because that's what's real.”

She thinks of Cassandra; the way her fingers flutter when she solves an equation, the way she flusters adorably at a compliment, the way her eyes burn during a passionate argument. How she’s so afraid, and yet conquers her fears anyway. How she wants to learn about anything and everything, even the dangerous things, before she no longer can.

That is a reality Eve wants, given the chance, though she knows it will not always be easy.

But Cassandra will always be worth it.

“This is all a fantasy, James. I need to find my friends and face whatever may be happening with them, because that’s reality. Not this,” she states.

Moriarty’s face has fallen in disappointment and sadness and even though she is furious with him, she is not heartless. “I don’t even think you’re real,” she says in a softer tone. “I’m sorry. I hope one day you can find some true happiness.” She turns back around and leaves to find her friends, and does not see Moriarty’s face harden in anger.

xxx

Eve would love it if for once she could just a have normal day.

After Ariel had helped Flynn to break through the last remnants of Prospero’s false narrative, she’d fled the Library to wherever spirits go, Eve assumes. They had looked up to see super-charged ley lines and Jenkins had informed them that they’d been gone for three weeks, and that the end of the world was nigh.

Then Cassandra had cleverly figured out Prospero was trying to remake the world into a giant forest, and then they’d found Flynn’s note and determined that he would have to time-travel back (or had already traveled back? It’s all very confusing for Eve) to 1611 to have a chance at stopping him.

 _Because shit wasn’t weird enough_ , Eve thinks.

So now, Flynn has gone ahead to the time travel room, and Eve and Cassandra are trailing behind him.  

“Apparently we have a time travel room. That suggests there’s more than one magically powered time-travel machine,” Eve mutters to Cassandra. “ _That’s_ not terrifying at all.”

Cassandra nods. “For once, I agree with you on that. Time travel is messy, and far riskier than most magic.”

Eve halts in her tracks, stopping Cassandra with a gentle hand on her arm. “Listen, while we’ve got a minute,” she says quietly. “I just wanted to apologize about before. The way I reacted, I get why you didn’t feel comfortable telling me. I should’ve handled it better. And while our opinions on magic may never match up a hundred percent, I trust you and your abilities. I’m sorry.”

Cassandra reaches over and squeezes Eve’s hand in her own in acceptance before letting go. "Maybe some day we can come to a compromise?"

"I'd like that."

“Me too. And I need to apologize as well. I should have told you a lot sooner. And…after being trapped in some magical fantasy living as someone else, I can understand why you’re so cautious. I didn’t like not knowing who I really was, my mind not my own. For so long, the only thing I had was my brain. It kept me safe, even if it did keep me apart from other people.”

“You’ve got us now. We’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

“I know. You guys are the best thing that ever happened to me. And I’m so grateful to be back to my old self, even if astronaut me was way cooler than Librarian me.”

“I think they’re equal levels of coolness.”

“Flatterer. Anyway, enough about me, how are you holding up after everything? I’m not the one who had to _date Moriarty_ ,” she says, a look of disgust on her face. “Are you…okay? Do you want to talk about it?”

“I’ll be alright. It could have been a _lot_ worse.”

“Oh, I see. Well, that’s a relief.”

“Yeah, I think that’s the only silver lining on this crap cloud of a situation,” Eve jokes, and Cassandra giggles. “But all in all,” Eve continues, “What happened was fairly innocent. I wouldn’t mind hashing it out over a bowl of mac and cheese once this is all over, though,” she finishes, a hopeful note in her voice, and tries not to appear too desperate that Cassandra will say yes.

Cassandra steps closer. “Maybe we can make it a movie night?”

“Absolutely,” Eve beams in happy relief. “And maybe you can share what it’s like to have memories from three different lives inside your head. How do you keep them straight? Do you ever get them mixed up with your real ones?”

“That’s the thing – they’re all real memories, even if the world itself is no longer real. But most of the time, I don’t confuse them. Everyone once in a while, I’ll be afraid to go to sleep, and have to remind myself that I’m in the Library, and not in a compound hiding from dragons,” she rambles. “Or I’ll think I have to do research into alternate universes to save the remaining population and then I remember that there’s no need. I just had a daydream today about walking on the moon, and that never happened, although I wouldn’t have minded that,” she grins. “Or I’ll wake up because I’ll think it’s cold in our hideout and Lamia’s not there to curl up to for warmth – um, I mean, uh,” she splutters.

Eve’s jaw has actually physically dropped. Cassandra is blushing so hard she looks like she’s about to combust from the sheer embarrassment, and Eve can’t help herself. “You and Lamia? Really? Even super magical you had game!”

“Honestly, Eve, I’m not – it wasn’t –” Cassandra can’t seem to finish a sentence, she’s so mortified, and Eve can’t stop laughing. “You’re the worst!” Cassandra exclaims, slapping her arm half-heartedly.

“No, no,” Eve continues to tease, “I can see why all the girls are chasing you. Just watching you play with that blue ball thingy –”

Cassandra chuckles at her terminology. “A blue ball thingy?” she says with a grin.

Eve smiles in self-deprecation. “I don’t know what exactly to call it, but yeah. Your face just lit up. I’d never seen you look so happy.”

“Really?”

Cassandra is smiling at her, is joking with her again. Eve feels giddy, and decides to be bold.

“Yeah, it was a good look on you.”

And then Flynn decides to have the worst timing in the world by poking his head out of the doorframe down the hall and interrupting their conversation. “Let’s go you two, time’s a-wasting! Hah, get it? TIME. We’re going to travel through time!!”

The way he says it, a kid at Christmas couldn’t sound more excited. That does not inspire great confidence in Eve. When even Cassandra is wary about something magical, Eve knows to be on her guard. They continue down the hall toward their destination, and Eve has this funny feeling that she’s going to really hate time travel.


	5. Part Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a giant apology for the delay - real life, you know?  
> i hope i do the ending justice. thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> some dialogue taken from 2x10, with modifications.

Eve has never truly hated her job until now.

Flynn and Eve travel through time to arrive in 1611 and are almost instantly killed before they are saved by Eve’s second-least favourite person from death by crossbow. Moriarty joins their crew, only to then turn around and try to kill Shakespeare with said crossbow.

She has come to the realization that it would be impossible to ever figure out what goes on in that man’s head. The only thing she really needs to remember is that Moriarty’s only objective is self-preservation. If their plans align with his goal, then he’ll help them. She’s just tired of having to do damage control for his impulsive actions. She’s not sorry to see him locked up in the stocks, as it gives them a chance to try and figure out what’s going on with Shakespeare without anyone dying.

Flynn positively swoons when they meet the playwright, and she can barely contain her amusement while she watches his absolutely ridiculous audition.

And then Shakespeare turns into Prospero.

So, here she is: trying to stop an insanely powerful wizard, and the only things she’s got to work with are a fictional, amoral loose cannon and a long-winded Librarian – who are admittedly brilliant, but who bicker like 5 year olds. When she has to break up a slap fight between the two men and bark out orders to get them to follow along, she thinks her previous assessment of their maturity was too generous. And to top it all off, she’s wearing some man’s clothes that smell so bad she’s surprised she hasn’t passed out from the stench yet.

Time travel is officially at the top of Eve’s shit list.

She takes a breath to gather her dwindling patience before setting them straight. “Alright you two. Work together, or die alone.”

“Ok _ay_ ,” Flynn grumbles petulantly, “what’s your plan?”

“Prospero’s story ends with his staff broken and book drowned, right?” Both men nod. “Well then, that’s what we’re going to do.”

\---

So the plan wasn’t going as well as Eve had hoped.

She can’t breathe. She is drowning in a pool alongside a magical book. She has failed to protect her Librarians, failed the world –

Suddenly the aching pressure in her lungs is gone, and somehow, she can breathe. There is a beautiful woman floating in front of her whose eyes flash as she smiles.

And then a sword suddenly appears in her hand. A sword that looks exactly like Excalibur.

Even though Eve had read Cassandra’s report from her previous mission, she wouldn’t have needed to in order to figure out who she was dealing with.

“Lady of the Lake.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Guardian.”

“How do you know who I am?”

“Cassandra spoke of you and the other Librarians.” Eve's eyes widen in surprise. What if Cassandra had accidentally shared some of the Library's secrets with the Ladies? What if this wasn't a rescue, but an opportune moment to capture the Library's Guardian during its time of crisis, in order to more easily seize the magic within it? She cannot be sure, so she'll play along for now.

“She did? What did she say?”

The Lady does not answer her question. “I can see why. I have never met a Guardian with four Librarians under their protection,” she says, a hint of humour in her voice. “I imagine it is a difficult task.”

“As you can see, I'm not doing a great job of it currently,” she gestures around her to demonstrate the troubling situation she's in, and then notices she is not in the same pool she fell into. “Where have you brought me?” Eve asks, wariness creeping into her voice.

“All I can say is that we are in a different time and place. You will be returned to where you came from,” she reassures, “with Excalibur. It will destroy the Staff.” The Lady then holds out her arm that grasps the sword, and Excalibur flies to Eve's hand.

Eve peers down at the sword as it comes to life in her grip, and has to tighten her hold on it to calm it down as it starts to wriggle and shake, restless to complete its mission.

“No one just gives up one of the most powerful magical weapons that has ever existed,” Eve states, looking up at the woman before her. “What will I owe you in exchange for this?”

The Lady's brow furrows almost imperceptibly. “We are your allies in this,” she says, her voice as hard as stone. “We forged Excalibur. It is _ours_ to give away. There is no debt to be paid.”

And now Eve's offended the only people willing and able to help her. _Way to go, Baird._

She bows her head, gaze downward in apology. “I'm sorry. I'm very thankful for your assistance. It's just that I'm still somewhat... wary of magic.”

“We were informed,” the Lady says dryly, and Eve looks up to see her companion has relaxed somewhat. “We seek the same goal, Guardian. The wizard cannot be allowed to remake the world. The outcome would be...disastrous,” she finishes gravely.

Eve looks at the weapon in her hand again. “Saving the world is still going to be a tall order, even with this sword. I'm not sure I can pull it off,” she says worriedly.

“You are a skilled Guardian with four Librarians, and you wield Excalibur. You have everything you need to stop Prospero.” The confidence in her voice bolsters Eve's own.

“Thank you again,” Eve says. “I won't forget this.”

“You have a good heart, Eve Baird. We all wish you luck. Now it is time for you to finish your task.” The Lady blinks, and Eve feels herself start to float upward, her surroundings morphing back into the pool she had been found in.

“I can see why Cassandra was tempted to join your group,” she says, staring in amazement. “This _is_ pretty incredible.”

“I understand now why Cassandra chose to stay,” the Lady replies, which draws Eve's attention back to her. There is a knowing look in her eye Eve can't decipher.

“What do you mean?”

The Lady just smiles, and then she is gone.

Eve is floating next to a drowned book, with more questions than answers.

But she can think about that later. Right now, she has a magic sword and a twisted wizard's ass to kick.

\---

With Flynn wielding Excalibur, Prospero is defeated. They can barely catch their breath before the paradox portal opens, and Eve sees her Librarians with Shakespeare on the other side. She has never been so happy to see them.

Apparently the feeling is mutual, as they all sprint toward her. “You're alive!” Cassandra cries.

“Kind of!” Eve answers. “Why is Shakespeare with you?”

“Ah, we just summoned him for a good old-fashioned exorcism,” Ezekiel quips. 

“Hence the portal,” Flynn says. “The timeline is trying to repair itself. Shakespeare needs to live out his days here, as history remembers.”

Eve is happy they can finally wrap this up. “Great! Will, you step through to your time, and we'll step through to ours – all good!”

“I'm afraid not,” Jenkins interjects. “Once Master Shakespeare is back in 1611, the primary paradox is closed. The timeline requires he live out life in the past, but it will not allow you to return.”

“That's not fair!” Ezekiel shouts.

“Nobody said it would be,” Stone answers dejectedly.

“So what do we do?” asks Cassandra.

“They already know.”

Eve is frozen in place. She can't move, can't think of any ideas that will get them back to where they belong. She wants to scream in frustration, but seeing the crestfallen faces before her, she knows she has to be strong for her team. She can fall to pieces later.

Jones and Stone say their goodbyes, and Eve's heart aches as she watches them walk away. She'll never again get the chance to fix Jake's form when they spar, or watch Ezekiel grow into a fine man who only _occasionally_ steals things.

Cassandra has to be held back by Jenkins while trying to reach through the portal.

“No, don't!” Eve says.

“I will figure this out! I will find -”

“Don't let this consume you, Cassandra, please. Don't live your life for anybody else.”

That's all Eve could want for her. To live a full life, to be happy, to see and learn everything she has ever wanted to know about. To not be trapped trying to change something that can't be undone.

“Go have your own adventure,” she finishes.

Cassandra stares at her with tears in her eyes before nodding to Flynn in acknowledgement and then turns to join the others. Jenkins bids them farewell and then sends Shakespeare back to his time. As he steps through, the portal closes behind him. And just like that, Eve loses her family.

“I'm sorry for you two to be trapped here in my time,” Shakespeare says.

Eve can't answer, her head hanging low to hide her reddening eyes.

“I'll give you a moment.” He rests a kind hand on her shoulder before walking over and sitting at the edge of the pool a short distance away.

“You really like Cassandra, don’t you,” Flynn remarks softly.

Eve turns her head to see an empathetic smile on his face and no resentment in his eyes, and she is too sad to try and deny it.

“I do,” she croaks out. “I hope that’s okay,” she adds, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

“Of course it’s okay. We had our time together, and I will always cherish it, but we both know that it wasn’t going to last. I can’t change the way I work, and I’m not very good at relationships, let alone long-distance,” he rambles, a self-deprecating tone in his voice. “Cassandra is great, and I’m glad you found each other.”

Eve grimaces. “We’re not actually – you know, there yet. I wanted to say something, but the timing just hasn’t worked out.” She tilts her head back to try and prevent her tears from falling. “And now I won’t get the chance.”

“I'm sorry, Eve.”

“Well, look at the bright side,” she smiles mirthlessly. “We saved the world. They're probably putting a statue of us up at the Library.”

Flynn cocks his head in thought and then looks at her. “Eve, that's brilliant!” He grabs her hand and pulls her over to Shakespeare. “In A Winter's Tale,” he gestures to the playwright, “you turned Hermione into a statue! And then Prospero did the same thing with the quill and the staff.”

“Flynn, what are you talking about?”

“Anybody can time travel Eve! Forward!” he says, pointing and thrusting his arm out for emphasis. “Master Shakespeare, we need you to use your magic quill one last time.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“And before we do whatever you've got planned,” Eve interrupts. “Can I _please_ get a change of clothes first?”

Flynn lifts the front of his shirt up to his face and breathes in. “Oh wow, these actually smell worse than they did before. I don't know how that's possible.” He turns to Shakespeare. “You wouldn't happen to know where the nearest tailor shop is, would you?”

\---

They hash out the details of the plan, preparing all the tools the other Librarians will need to defeat Prospero and to break the spell that holds them in stone. “Are you sure this is going to work,” Eve asks nervously. “I really don't want to be stuck as a statue for eternity.”

“It will work, trust me.”

“Am I going to be aware the whole time?”

“No. When we wake up, it’ll feel like no time has passed.”

Eve turns to Shakespeare. “Okay. Let's do it.”

Flynn reaches out to hold her hand and gives it a comforting squeeze as Shakespeare starts to cast the spell, the stone forming at their feet and moving quickly up their bodies. The last thing she hears before the darkness hits her is his voice. “Don’t worry,” he says.“We’ll get back. The long way around.”

 

The next thing she hears is Cassandra.

“Who would've...”

The words resonate through Eve and Flynn's frozen bodies, the stone crumbling around them, throwing dust up into the air. They cough as they brush the remaining debris from their hair and clothing. She finally opens her eyes and is overjoyed to see her team, all four of them smiling broadly.

“Did you miss us?” she asks cheekily.

“You guys traveled through time, as _statues_! You were here this whole time!” Cassandra exclaims.

“An inspired idea, sir,” Jenkins adds.

Flynn doesn't need any further prompting to share his story. “Well, I have to give Eve credit for providing inspiration,” he says as he hops off the pedestal. “But here's how we did it...” his voice trails off as he heads for the door, the other men following him.

Cassandra stays behind, gazing at Eve. “I'm so glad you're back.”

“I'm so glad to hear your voice!”

Cassandra gives her a quizzical look.

“We used your voice as the catalyst to break the spell,” she explains as she steps down in front of the other woman.

“Why me?”

“Well, you're our resident amateur magician, so I thought it was fitting,” Eve jokes, and Cassandra rolls her eyes. “But also – I guess I thought it'd be a nice sound to wake up to.”

Cassandra gives her a bear hug. “I really missed you,” she says, her voice muffled with her face pressed into Eve's neck.

“I missed you too,” Eve says. Before she starts to get really mushy she pulls back and asks, “So what else did I miss?”

“Dinosaurs are back,” Cassandra chirps.

With this job, Eve can't be sure she isn't telling the truth. “Really?”

Cassandra grins mischievously at her. They start giggling as they link arms and follow the others into the depths of the Library.

\---

It’s been a month since they saved the world. All four Librarians, Jenkins, and Eve have been hard at work cataloguing all the changes to the Library, with Stone occasionally cursing at having to map the room that turned inside out. “Don’t ask,” he says whenever anybody asks him how it’s going. Flynn has been spending a couple of hours each day retraining Excalibur. Eve refuses to call the sword “Cal.”

On top of all this, the clippings book is still regularly producing new cases for them to solve. Everyone has been so exhausted lately that at the end of the day, they all trudge back to their beds for the night to pass out and start all over again the next day, which hasn’t left much time for socializing. The only time they really get to hang out are their workout sessions in the morning, but holding a conversation while sparring or running is not the easiest of tasks. Eve and Jake continue to train, with Cassandra occasionally doing some cardio, but mostly just hanging around. None of them ask why, as they’re all happy to have her around regardless.

Eve can see that the constant deluge of work is starting to wear on her team, but luckily they have a reason to take the upcoming evening off: it's Cassandra's birthday, and they're going to celebrate accordingly. She's in the midst of baking a cake before the party when Jake enters the kitchen and notices what she's up to.

“Smells delicious,” he says by way of greeting. “What flavour?”

“Chocolate, it's her favourite.”

“Are you finally going to tell her or what?”

Eve looks up sharply from her task. “Stone, at least close the door if you want to talk about this. I don't need everyone else hearing.”

He shuts the door behind him and lowers his voice, walking over to her. “What are you waiting for, Baird?”

Eve picks up her spoon and starts to mix the ingredients together, too embarrassed to look at him while she talks about her feelings. “I don't know if you noticed, but we've been a little busy. It just never seems to be the right time. And– I'm scared, to be honest. What if it goes badly? Then the whole team dynamic will be thrown off.”

“Don't use 'the team' as an excuse. Now, I'm going to tell you something, and you can't say anything. For the few days you were gone – or a statue before we found you, whatever – Cassandra was inconsolable. She barely slept or ate, and once I found her crying all over the stack of paperwork she was trying to finish,” Jake explains. “She really likes you, Eve. So stop beating around the bush and tell her how you feel.” He rounds off his speech with a gentle nudge to her shoulder, and Eve offers the spoon up to him in thanks.

“Whoa, I get to lick the spoon? You sure?”

“Better get to it before I change my mind.”

\---

Eve looks at her family sitting around the table in the main room, all chattering and joking with one another. The sight of it warms her heart. The mess of paperwork that's typically spread all over the surface has been replaced with pizza boxes and chocolate cake.

Ezekiel sets his empty plate down, crumbs decorating the edges of his mouth. “It's time for presents!”

Cassandra looks slightly guilty. “You guys, you really didn't have to.”

“Yeah, but we wanted to,” Flynn responds.

“Mine first!” Ezekiel exclaims. “I got you tickets to see Neil DeGrasse Tyson,” and he hands them over to Cassandra. Jake elbows him in the ribs. “Ow! Mate, what was that for?”

Jake has a stern look on his face. “Be honest.”

“Alriiiight,” Ezekiel whines. “I stole the tickets. But to be fair, the guy I stole them from was a real ass and you deserve them way more than he does.”

Stone gets her a manuscript on ancient mythological and magical creatures, while Flynn and Jenkins had gone in together to get her a full day of pampering at a very high-end spa in the city. “The treatments there are divine,” Jenkins divulges, and everyone does a double-take.

When Eve doesn't step forward with her gift, Jones teases her. “Did you forget to buy a present, Baird?”

“It isn't actually here. I got our birthday girl a private tour of CERN – for the entire facility.”

“No way! That is so cool!” Cassandra shrieks. “All of these gifts are amazing. Everybody in for a group hug!”

They all surround her with their arms encircled, squeezing her in affection.

“Well,” Flynn says, after everyone has detached themselves from one another. “I think it's time for a toast.”

Stone has brought his stash of beer (“They were chilling in the Fountain of Youth,” he whispers to Eve), and the group raises their drinks in a toast.

“If I may,” Jenkins says. “Miss Cillian, I think I can speak for us all when I say we are honoured to share this day with you. Our lives are better because you're a part of them, and we are lucky to have you. Cheers!”

“Cheers!” they all echo, and clink their bottles together.

Jake faces Eve as they finish their drinks, his back turned to the others, and mouths _You gonna?_   while discreetly jerking his head in Cassandra's direction. Eve nods.

He turns back to the group. “Hey guys, help me put the rest of this food away, will you? Not you Cass, it's your birthday, you get to relax,” he adds as she starts to get up from her seat. The men begin packing up the boxes and empty dishes. Eve pretends to help, and then doesn't follow them as they head to the kitchen.

She turns to see Cassandra moaning as she finishes the last bite of her dessert. “Eve, this cake is delicious. Thank you so much.”

“It was my pleasure.” She pauses for a moment before continuing. “I just want to let you know that the time slot they gave me for your tour was 6 months from now. I'm sorry that you'll have to wait so long for it.”

“I don't mind waiting at all, this is one of the best gifts ever!” Cassandra beams. “In fact, it is the second-best.”

“Well now I have to know what the best gift you ever got was, it must have been something really special,” she jokes.” But I'm glad this made you happy. I couldn't have hoped for a better reaction.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, your smile is the best thing I've seen,” she says, and uses every ounce of her courage to hold Cassandra's gaze, hoping that the other woman will understand what she's trying to say.

Cassandra stands and moves slowly toward her. “The greatest gift I've ever received _is_ pretty special. I get to hear it everyday.”

“What is it?"

“My mind is always so _loud_. Sometimes it can be overwhelming - everything seems too bright, or there's too much to process,” Cassandra explains, coming to a halt a few inches away from Eve. “But when you say my name, everything goes quiet. For a moment, my mind is at peace. There’s just you.” She takes a shaky breath. “Only you.”

“Oh,” Eve exhales.

Cassandra looks down and chuckles nervously. She looks like she’s about to make a run for it.

Before Eve loses her nerve, she reaches out and takes one of Cassandra’s hands, watching her eyes flutter as she does so.

“Cassandra.”

She watches Cassandra’s eyes slip shut and her body go still. “Say it again.”

Eve leans in closer and whispers into her ear. “Cassandra.”

She’s so close she can feel the other woman shudder. She presses a kiss to her forehead, her cheek, the corner of her mouth, hearing Cassandra softly inhale as she does so.

Eve worries that the sensory input may be too much, and steps back. “Is this okay?”

Cassandra’s eyes open at the question. “You are incredible,” she says adoringly.

“I’m just trying to keep up with you.” She taps Cassandra's nose with her own before leaning back slightly. “So, now that we’ve got all that out in the open, can I ask you a serious question?”

Cassandra nods, looking slightly puzzled at the change in conversation.

“Do you actually enjoy hanging out in the gym when we’re working out? Because it smells in there, you know. Nobody cleans it, not even Jenkins.”

Cassandra smirks. “Actually, I just wanted to watch you spar,” she drawls. “Watching you beat up a guy well above your body weight in tight workout gear is not a sight to be missed.”

Eve blushes scarlet, and then wraps her arms around Cassandra’s waist. “Just wait until you see me wrestle.”

Cassandra leans in closer. “Can I get a private lesson?”

“Only if you ask nicely –”

Cassandra cuts her off with a soft, lingering kiss.

She pulls back after a few moments, her smile even bigger than it was before. “Was that nice enough?”

Eve is barely coherent enough to flirt back. “I think I can squeeze you into my schedule. I have some free time now if you’re interested.”

Cassandra bites her lip and runs her hands down Eve’s arms. “Buy a girl dinner first, Guardian. I demand to be wooed appropriately.”

Eve chuckles. “Wooed, hmm? I can do that. In fact, I already have an idea for our next day off.”

“That was quick. What did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking we could visit the Canary Islands. We could spend the day on the beach, and in the evening, maybe see if we could get Jenkins to open up a backdoor into the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory for some star-gazing. What do you think?” 

Cassandra squeals in excitement and kisses her again, deeply. Eve pulls their bodies flush together, lifting her up and twirling her around, feeling euphoric. Cassandra breaks the kiss, laughing in surprise and looks down at Eve, her gaze full of affection.

Eve sets her down gently. “And as for the rest of the evening, I was thinking we could go for a stroll, enjoy the sights.”

“The sights? There's not too much to see close by.”

“There is along the Seine. With the time difference, I bet we'll catch a beautiful sunrise.”

“You're taking me to Paris? Right now?”

“Yep,” Eve answers with a wink. “Grab your bag and I’ll meet you at the door.”

Eve and Cassandra part and collect their belongings before reuniting in the Annex. By the time they return, Jenkins has reemerged from the kitchen and is disinfecting their work space. They clasp hands and stand side by side a few feet from the door. “Jenkins!” Eve calls. “Fire up the back door. We're going to Paris.”

He walks over and punches in the coordinates. “Yes, Colonel. And,” he gestures with a slight tilt of his head toward their joined hands, “May I offer my congratulations.”

“Thank you Jenkins!” Cassandra squeaks as she leans over and pecks him on the cheek. She starts walking toward the door, pulling Eve along by the hand. Eve glances back over her shoulder to see Jenkins give her the thumbs up. Eve smiles at him and then falls back into step. The two women stop in front of the doors, throwing them open, ready to explore what's on the other side.

They walk through the portal together.

 


End file.
